Inserting machine for the contents of envelopes



y 5, 1964 P. B. WEBSTER 3,131,519

INSERTING MACHINE FOR THE CONTENTS OF ENVELOPES Filed Sept. 25. 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

FIG. 3 v FIG. 4

INVENTOR. PAUL B. WEBSTER ATTORN EYS y 5, 1964 P. B. WEBSTER 3,131,519

INSERTING MACHINE FOR THE CONTENTS OF ENVELOPES Filed Sept. 25, 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I L L FIG.5 R l\ L 85 FIG. 8 L?) 86 Suction Pick-UpSolenoid 88 Advance Return 4- 91 1192 1 Return For} INVENTOR. gnroke gaI PAUL B. WEBSTER fz W M ATTO RNEYS United States Patent 3,131,519HQSERTING MACHINE FER THE CQNTENTS (BF ENVELGlES Paul E. Webster,Abington, Mass., assiguor to National Manufacturing Corporation,Weilesley Hills, Mass., a

corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 140,286 14Claims. (Cl. 53-117) This invention relates generally to insertingmachines for the contents of envelopes and more particularly it isconcerned with a machine for folding telephone book covers and placingthem in mailing envelopes.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a labor-savingmachine for folding certain kinds of mailable matter and inserting itinto envelopes.

It is another object of the invention to provide a highspeed machine ofthe above-mentioned character.

Still another object is to design such a machine for unattended service.

A further object is to provide a machine for this service which is notunduly complex and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

The novel features of the invention together with further objects andadvantages will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof a preferred embodiment and the drawing to which the descriptionrefers. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side View in elevation of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the envelopeholding assemblyincorporated in themachine;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating-the mode of operation of theenvelope-holding assembly;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the feed roll for the folded covers; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the electrical connections found in themach ne according to the invention.

With reference first to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, and particularly to FlG. 2,it willbe observed that the numeral 12 has reference to a stack ofenvelopes, and the numeral 11 has reference to the covers to be foldedand inserted into the envelopes. Preparatory to folding, the covers areloaded onto a shelf 13 Where they are maintained in a stack byupstanding guides 14. Disposed above the stack is a pickup devicefeaturing a pair of suction heads 16. Suction heads 16 are carried byconnecting'lines 17 and 18 which are joined at a point approximatelymidway between the heads by a coupling 19. A flexible hose 21 leading toa source of vacuum is coupled to the latter as is a bypass valve whichis actuated by a plunger 22. To raise and lower the suction heads, asolenoid actuator 23 is provided. The body of the actuator 23 is rigidlyfastened to a carrier tray 24 by an arm 26, and the movable element orarmature thereof is joined to the coupling 19.

Disposed above the tray 24 is a mechanism to fold the individual coverswhich are picked up one at a time by the suction heads 16. Thismechanism includes a pair of hollow suction rolls .28 and 29 served by avacuum line 31, and having surface openings 32 and 33 respectively, withwhich to grip a cover such as the one shown in FIG. 3 resting on top ofthe suction rolls and about to be drawn into the nip thereof. Projectinginto the space between the rolls from below, is a guide element 34 whichserves to direct partially folded covers to feed roll 35 whichco-operates with the undersurface of the suction roll 23. As shown inFIG. 7, feed roll 35 is provided with a series of circumferentialgrooves to retain 0 rings 3,131,519 Patented May 5, 1964 36. By thismeans, the covers are effectively stripped from the suction roll 29 anddeposited on the elevated rearward portion of the tray 24.

Tray 2 is adapted for reciprocatory movement in a horizontal plane,fromleft to right and right to left in FIG. 2, and to this end a pair ofbrackets 37, 38 are rigidly fastened thereto. Brackets 37, 38 arecarried by guide rods 41, 42 which are rigidly supported between fixedbrackets 43 and 44. A hydraulicactuator piston 45 attached tothebrackets 38 moves the latter forwardly to the limit established by abumper spring 46, and rearwardly into a position of engagement with abumper spring 4'7, the position shown in FIG. 2. The hydraulic actuatoritself is designated generally by'the numeral Sit.

Also during its return stroke, piston 45 serves to pivot an assembly ofsuction-gripping devices 48 into engagement with the lowermost envelopein the stack of en velopes toward the left of the machine. For thispurpose, the gripping devices in the form of vacuum nozzles andassociated connecting lines are pivotally mounted at 49 where an arm 51is rigidly fastened to them. Arm 51, in turn, is pivotally connected toa rod 52 which is carried by bracket 38. That is to say, bracket 38 isprovided with a clearance hole to receive the rod 52, and rod 52 has anut 53 threaded onto its end remote from arm 51. As the piston retracts,bracket 38 is brought into engagement With the nut 53 causing the rod tomove with the piston during the latter portion of its return travel.When the piston is in an advanced position, a restoring spring 54-pivots the gripping devices ;in the opposite direction to the limitdefined by a stop55. In this way, the underside of the lowermostenvelope is effectively pulled down as shown in FIG. 6, while theopposite side is maintained in a fixed position by a retaining bar 56.The latter is disposed beneath the flap portion of the envelope which isintegral with the side thereof away from the gripping devices. Vacuum isapplied to the gripping devices by way of a fiexiblevhose 57 and arotary coupling 58 which connects the hose to a common supply line 59(FIG. 1).

The holder assembly for the envelopes is shown more in detail in FIG. 5.From FIG. 5 it-will be observed that the stack of envelopes 12 rests onparallel supports in the form of angle irons 61, 62 which arespacedapart a distance approximating the widths of the envelopes.Projecting vertically from the rearward corners of the supports areupstanding rods 63, 64. The spacing of the rods 63, 64 is slightly lessthan that of the sides of the supports .such that horizontal movementofan envelope from the bottom of the stack entails appreciabledeformation of the envelope as shown at 65. Finally, there are provideda pair of pickup rolls 66 and 67 to complete the one at a timewithdrawal of the envelopes from the bottom of the stack once thecovers-have been placed in them. Roll 67 is an idler whereas roll 66 isdriven by a motor 63 as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 also shows the drivemechanism for rolls 23 and 29, namely a motor 69 and a gear box 71having an output or drive shaft 72 coupled to roll 28. The motorand gearbox are seen to be interconnected by a belt 73 while theroll'23 mounts agear 74 in driving engagement with a similar gear 76 on the roll 29.

To actuate the piston 45 for reciprocating the carrier or tray, and alsothe solenoid 23-for the cover pickup operation, a pair of cams 81 and82, respectively, are mounted on the drive shaft for the suction roll2%. As best shown in FIG. 8, cam 81 controls the operation of a switch83 and cam 82 controls the operation of a switch 84. In its normalposition, switch 8 is open. When closed, switch 84 couples solenoid '23to an A.C. source 85 through a transformer 86 and a diode rectifier 87which serve to energize the solenoid. When the switch 83 is in itsnormal position, as shown, a capacitor 88 is charged through the diode87, while movement of the switch 83 away from its normal positiondischarges the capacitor and initiates the advance of the hydraulicactuator piston. That is to say, hydraulic actuator 59 includes solenoidvalves to control its movement such as are found in various commercialactuator models and these elements are shown schematically in FIG. 8 aswindings 91 and 92. Winding 91, which when energized causes the actuatorpiston to advance, is coupled to the capacitor through a switch 93 andthe aforementioned switch 33, when the latter is caused to assume otherthan its normal position. Switch 93, as best shown in FIG. 2, is mountedbeneath the forward portion of the tray for actuation by the weight of acover 11 after it has been deposited on the tray 24- and moved from therearward to the forward portion thereof. The winding 92, which whenenergized is adapted to cause the actuator piston to retract, is coupledto the capacitor 88 by a switch 95. As best shown in FIG. 2, switch 95is mounted on the fixed bracket 44 for actuation by a plunger 96 on theend of the piston when the latter is fully advanced. In its normalposition free of the plunger, switch 95 also serves to complete acircuit for charging the capacitor 38.

In operation, the uppermost cover in the stack, toward the right of themachine as shown in FIG. 2, is picked up by the suction heads 16 andcaused to move forwardly towards the left when the tray 24 movesforwardly. As

the tray reaches the limit of its forward movement, the

cover which is moved to a position above the suction rolls 28, 29 isreleased due to the fact that the plunger 22 is actuated by a stop 98which opens the vacuum line 21 to the atmosphere. As soon as theapertures in the suction rolls are presented to the cover, the same isdrawn into the nip of the rolls and thereby folded. Thereafter, feedroll 35 operates to strip the cover from the suction roll 29 and depositit upon the elevated rearward portion of the tray before the trayretracts.

When the tray does retract, a doctor 99 engages the cover and preventsits rearward movement with the tray. In this way, the cover istransferred to the forward portion of the tray and the switch 93 isactuated by its weight. Also, by means of the return motion of thepiston, gripping nozzles 48 are caused to pivot into engagement with theunderside of the lowermost envelope in the stack.

Actuation of switch 93 under the weight of the cover followed shortly bymovement of cam switch 83 away from its normal position again causes thepiston to advance. This frees rod 52 permitting nozzles 48 to pivot in aclockwise direction under the influence of spring 54. As the flap of thelowermost envelope is held in place by cross bar 56, pivotal movement ofthe nozzles carrying with them the underside of the lowermost envelope,effectively opens the envelope to admit the tray 24 with the coverthereon.

When the tray during its advance reaches the rear end of the envelope,the envelope is pushed by the tray out from under the stack into the nipof the pickup rolls 6d and 67. The rolls on and 67 serve to preventreturn of the loaded envelope with the tray and to feed the envelope outof the machine towards the left of FIG. 2. placement of other than theloaded envelope from the stack is prevented by rods 63 and 64 whichinsure that deformation of the envelope, as can only be accompiished bydirect engagement of the tray with the lowermost envelope in the staclz,is required to move the envelopes horizontally. Also, withdrawal of anempty envelope from the stick is prevented by adjustment of the grippingforce of the pickup rolls such that an empty envelope is too thin forthe rolls to feed. Finally, actuation of the limit switch 95 by theplunger 96 on the end of the piston initiates return of the tray to theposition shown.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a singlepreferred embodiment, it will be appre- Dis 4 ciated that variousmodifications thereof within the spirit and scope of the invention arepossible. Therefore the invention should not be deemed to be limited tothe details of what has been described herein by way of illustration butrather it should be deemed to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An inserting machine for the contents of envelopes comprising meansto support a stack of envelopes, means to open successive envelopes inthe stack, a carrier for the inserts to be placed in the envelopes,means to deposit a said insert on said carrier, means comprising a fluidactuator responsive to electrical signals to reciprocate said carrierbetween a first position free of the envelopes and a second positionwith said insert inside a said envelope having been opened, means tocontrol the advance of said carrier from said first to said secondposition comprising a first electrical switch responsive to the weightof said insert on said carrier and circuit means to apply signals tosaid actuator under control of said first switch, means to controlretraction of said carrier from said second to said first position intime sequence to the advance thereof from said first to said secondposition, and means to maintain said insert inside said envelope duringretraction of said carrier.

2. An inserting machine for the contents of envelopes comprising meansto support a stack of envelopes, means to open successive envelopes inthe stack, a carrier for the inserts to be placed in the envelopes,means to deposit a said insert on said carrier, means to reciprocatesaid carrier between a first position free of the envelopes and a secondposition with said insert inside a said envelope having been opened,said opened envelope being pushed laterally of the stack of envelopes bythe advance of said carrier, means to control the advance of saidcarrier from said first to said second position in response to theweight of said insert thereon, means to control retraction of saidcarrier from said second to said first position in time sequence to theadvance thereof from said first to said second position, and means tomaintain said insert inside said envelope during retraction of saidcarrier comprising a pair of pickup rolls to grip said envelope withsaid insert inside and to feed it in a direction opposite to themovement of said carrier when it retracts.

3. An inserting machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means tocause retraction of said carrier includes a second electrical switchresponsive to the movement of said carrier into said second position,and circuit means to apply signals to said actuator under control ofsaid second switch.

4. An inserting machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said means todeposit said inserts upon said carrier includes a suction grippingdevice periodically to pick up and to release the inserts.

5. An inserting machine as claimed in claim 4 including means to enablesaid gripping device to pick up said inserts in a timed cycle, and meansto disable said gripping device for release of said inserts in responseto the movement of said carrier into said second position.

6. An inserting machine for the contents of envelopes comprising meansto support a stack of envelopes, means to open successive envelopes inthe stack, a carrier for the inserts to be placed in the envelopes, saidcarrier having a forward portion and a rearward portion, means toreciprocate said carrier between a first position free of the envelopesand a second position with said forward portion within a said envelopehaving been opened, means to deposit an insert on the rearward portionof said carrier when in said second position, means to controlretraction of said carrier from said second to said first position intime sequence to the advance thereof from said first to said secondposition, means to transfer said insert from the rearward to the forwardportion of said carrier when the same retracts, and means to control thead Vance of said carrier from said first to said second position inresponse to the transfer of said insert from said rearward to saidforward portion thereof.

7. An inserting machine for the contents of envelopes comprising meansto support a stack of envelopes, means to open successive envelopes inthe stack, a carrier for the inserts to be placed in the envelopes, saidcarrier having a forward portion and a rearward portion which iselevated with respect to said forward portion, a fluid actuatorincluding electrical signal responsive means to reciprocate said carrierbetween a first position free of the envelopes and a second positionwith said forward portion within a said envelope having been opened,means to deposit an insert upon the rearward portion of said carrierwhen the same is in said second position, a limit switch responsive tothe movement of said carrier from said first to said second position,circuit means for producing electrical signals to cause retraction ofsaid carrier from said second to said first position upon the actuationof said limit switch, means to transfer said insert from the rearward tothe forward portion of said carrier when the same retracts, a sensorswitch disposed beneath the forward portion of said carrier foractuation by the weight of said insert, and circuit means to developelectrical signals for controlling the advance of said carrier from saidfirst to said second position in response to the actuation of saidsensor switch.

8. An inserting machine according to claim 7 wherein said means tosupport said stack of envelopes includes a pair of support membersdisposed beneath the side edges of the lowermost envelope in the stack,and a cross member disposed beneath the flap of said lowermost envelope.

9. An inserting machine as claimed in claim 8 wherein said means to opensuccessive envelopes in the stack includes a suction device forengagement with the undersurface of said lowermost envelope, and amechanism operatively connected between said fluid actuator and saidsuction device to raise and lower the latter.

10. An inserting machine according to claim 7 wherein said envelopehaving been opened is pushed laterally of the stack by the advance ofsaid carrier, and including a pair of pickup rolls to grip said envelopewith said insert inside and feed it in a direction opposite to themovement of said carrier when it retracts.

ll. An inserting machine for the contents of envelopes comprising meansto support a stack of envelopes, means to open successive envelopes inthe stack, a carrier for the inserts to be placed in the envelopes, saidcarrier having rearward and forward portions, means to reciprocate saidcarrier between a first position free of the envelopes and a secondposition with said forward portion within a said envelope having beenopened, means to support a stack of inserts, means joined to saidcarrier to pick up the uppermost insert in the stack and to release thesame when said carrier is in said second position, means disposedbeneath said pickup and release means for said insert when said carrieris in said second position for folding of said insert and depositing iton the rearward portion of said carrier, means to maintain said insertin a horizontally fixed position when said carrier retracts so that theinsert is transferred to the forward portion of said carrier, and meansresponsive to the transfer of said insert onto said forward portion tocontrol the advance of said carrier.

12. An inserting machine as claimed in claim 11 wherein said means topick up and release inserts includes at least one suction head, a linearactuator periodically to raise and lower said suction head, and means todisable said suction head for release of a said insert when said carrieris in said second position.

13. An inserting machine as claimed in claim 12 wherein said means forfolding of said inserts comprises a pair of suction rolls to draw insaid insert along the fold line to be made therein, a feed roll disposedadjacent the undersurface of one of said rolls to feed said insert ontothe rearward portion of said carrier, and a guide to direct said insertinto the nip between said feed roll and said one of the suction rolls.

14. An inserting machine as claimed in claim 13 wherein said feed rollis provided with a plurality of O-rings extending circumferentially ofthe surface thereof at axially spaced locations.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,384,506 Thompson Sept. 11, 1945 2,771,726 Owen Nov. 27, 1956 2,914,895Martin Dec. 1, 1959

1. AN INSERTING MACHINE FOR THE CONTENTS OF ENVELOPES COMPRISING MEANSTO SUPPORT A STACK OF ENVELOPES, MEANS TO OPEN SUCCESSIVE ENVELOPES INTHE STACK, A CARRIER FOR THE INSERTS TO BE PLACED IN THE ENVELOPES,MEANS TO DEPOSIT A SAID INSERT ON SAID CARRIER, MEANS COMPRISING A FLUIDACTUATOR RESPONSIVE TO ELECTRICAL SIGNALS TO RECIPROCATE SAID CARRIERBETWEEN A FIRST POSITION FREE OF THE ENVELOPES AND A SECOND POSITIONWITH SAID INSERT INSIDE A SAID ENVELOPE HAVING BEEN OPENED, MEANS TOCONTROL THE ADVANCE OF SAID CARRIER FROM SAID FIRST TO SAID SECONDPOSITION COMPRISING A FIRST ELECTRICAL SWITCH RESPONSIVE TO THE WEIGHTOF SAID INSERT ON SAID CARRIER AND CIRCUIT MEANS TO APPLY SIGNALS TOSAID ACTUATOR UNDER CONTROL OF SAID FIRST SWITCH, MEANS TO CONTROLRETRACTION OF SAID CARRIER FROM SAID SECOND TO SAID FIRST POSITION INTIME SEQUENCE TO THE ADVANCE THEREOF FROM SAID FIRST TO SAID SECONDPOSITION, AND MEANS TO MAINTAIN SAID INSERT INSIDE SAID ENVELOPE DURINGRETRACTION OF SAID CARRIER.